Editorial: Evacuation challenges
The death of an Indian medical student, Naveen Gyanagoudar, in the Russian shelling in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv is a tragic reminder of the challenges involved in the evacuation of the people stranded in the war zone. There has been criticism that the Indian government was not quick enough in reaching out to its citizens. The circumstances surrounding Gyanagoudar’s death highlight the desperation of the Indian citizens to get out of the war-hit country as they are struggling for basic needs like food and water. The medical student was killed in the bombing after he stepped out of his bunker to buy groceries. Disturbing reports have been pouring in about how the students and workers from India had to walk for miles in the freezing conditions to cross the Ukrainian border for an onward journey back home. There are nearly 20,000 Indians, a major chunk of them students, living in the former Soviet Republic. It is a gigantic task to evacuate them safely, as it involves complex logistics, diplomatic coordination and meticulous planning. A swift and cohesive action plan must be put in place to ensure that no Indian is left behind. The blame game and the credit war between the union government and the opposition will only make matters worse. In a grim situation like this, parties must refrain from attempts to politicise the issue. The bulk of the planning for evacuation should have been done before the invasion began. There were enough indications for several weeks about an imminent military action by Russia.
The Indian embassy had first issued an advisory on February 20, urging students and others to leave the country for the time being. Soon after, all-out efforts should have been mounted to quickly resolve the issues related to airfare and transit visas that forced thousands of Indians to stay back despite the fast-deteriorating situation. There is a need for closer coordination with the authorities in Ukraine’s neighbouring countries — Poland, Belarus, Romania, Slovakia, Moldova and Hungary — to speed up the evacuation process. India has strongly taken up with Ukraine and Russia to create safe passage corridors for its nationals stuck in the conflict zones. Russia has promised that it will establish a humanitarian corridor for hassle-free transit. The immediate priority now is to prevent more casualties and shift all Indians safely out of Ukraine at the earliest. The next task for the Centre is to ensure that the careers of the Indian students are not affected because of the ongoing conflict. Thousands of medical students returning home from Ukraine are clueless about what the future holds for them. Their universities have told them to pay the fees in advance by the first week of March. The situation in eastern Ukraine is particularly bad and the Indian students in this region are the worst affected.
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